Skanda Purana — Vishnu Khanda, Shloka 45

Devanagari script

दक्षिणाच्चरणांगुष्ठान्निःसृता जाह्नवी हरेः । वामांगुष्ठान्मुनिवराः सरयूर्निर्गता शुभा

Transliteration

dakṣiṇāccaraṇāṃguṣṭhānniḥsṛtā jāhnavī hareḥ | vāmāṃguṣṭhānmunivarāḥ sarayūrnirgatā śubhā

Translation

Aus Haris rechtem großen Zeh strömte die Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) hervor; und aus Seinem linken Zeh, o Bester der Weisen, entsprang die glückverheißende Sarayū.

Word by Word

• दक्षिणात्: from the right (side)
• दक्षिणात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दक्षिण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th/अपादान), एकवचन; ‘दक्षिणा’ (right side)

• चरण-अङ्गुष्ठात्: from the toe of the foot
• चरण-अङ्गुष्ठात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: चरण-अङ्गुष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; समासः—तत्पुरुषः (चरणस्य अङ्गुष्ठः = toe of the foot)

• निःसृता: having issued forth
• निःसृता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निः-√सृ (धातु) → निःसृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त)

• जाह्नवी: Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• जाह्नवी: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जाह्नवी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• हरेः: of Hari (Viṣṇu)
• हरेः: Shashthi-Sambandha (Genitive relation/षष्ठी)
• Type: Noun
• Root: हरि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी (6th/सम्बन्ध), एकवचन

• वाम-अङ्गुष्ठात्: from the left toe
• वाम-अङ्गुष्ठात्: Apadana (Source/अपादान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाम-अङ्गुष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, पञ्चमी (5th), एकवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (वामः अङ्गुष्ठः = left toe/thumb)

• मुनिवराः: excellent sages
• मुनिवराः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुनि-वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), बहुवचन; समासः—कर्मधारयः (वरः मुनिः = excellent sages)

• सरयूः: Sarayū (river)
• सरयूः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरयू (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; नदी-नाम

• निर्गता: having come forth
• निर्गता: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्-√गम् (धातु) → निर्गत (कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन; भूतकृदन्त (क्त)

• शुभा: auspicious
• शुभा: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शुभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st), एकवचन

Speaker

Narrator (contextual, Vaiṣṇavakhaṇḍa—Ayodhyāmāhātmya; speaker not explicit in the snippet)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Sarayū (and Jāhnavī/Gaṅgā as comparative frame)

Type: river

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: munivara (best of sages)

Visual Art Cues

Scene: A cosmic vision of Hari’s feet: from the right great toe flows Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā) as a radiant stream; from the left great toe flows Sarayū, equally auspicious—both descending into the world, forming luminous rivers that bless sages below.

Characters & Entities

• Hari (Viṣṇu)
• Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā)
• Sarayū

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Ayodhyā’s Sarayū is not merely geographical—it is divinely sourced, making its sanctity intrinsic and supreme.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

The Sarayū river at Ayodhyā, linked in origin to Hari (Viṣṇu), alongside Jāhnavī (Gaṅgā).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

No direct prescription appears; the verse provides an origin-myth grounding later practices like snāna and tīrtha-yātrā.